Conventionally, a drinking container, such as a Tetra Pak.TM. container, has a hole on an upper surface of the container. The hole is sealed by a layer of material, for example, aluminum foil. In addition, an external straw is attached to a side wall of the container by an adhesive. By detaching the external straw from the side wall and inserting it into the hole, a user can suck the liquid out of the container.
The above method of drinking has several disadvantages. First, after long-term storage, a certain amount of dust will accumulate on the upper surface of the container. By inserting the straw into the hole, the dust will fall into the container, which in turn will contaminate the liquid therein and may affect the user's health.
Furthermore, since the straw is attached to the side wall of the container by an adhesive, during the transportation of the container or while stacking several containers on the shelf, the straw is easily separated from the container or broken by collision between containers.
In addition, sometimes the straw will fall into the container, which forces the user to cut the container or to pour the liquid into a cup to continue drinking.
Another drinking container relates to a gable-topped container without the provision of a straw. Before drinking the liquid therein, the container has to be opened, causing the liquid to splash out.
Moreover, even though an external straw can be used for the gable-topped container, the straw is easily lost in the container or only a small portion of the straw is left outside the opening of the container.
A further example relates to an easy-to-open metallic can with an easy-opening tab provided on the upper surface of the can. In order to drink the liquid therein, a user has to pull on the tab to reveal an opening, and then put his mouth on the opening. However, the mouth may be hurt accidentally by the edge around the opening. Instead, an external straw has to be inserted into the opening or the liquid has to be poured into a cup, which, however, is inconvenient for the user.
In addition, for a plastic or PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) drinking container having a cap and a layer of material sealing an opening of the container, usually, the user has to screw off the cap, tear the sealing, and insert an external straw into the opening or pour the liquid directly into a cup. Again, it is inconvenient for the user.